Dozens of Manatee teachers likely to lose jobs

Published: Thursday, May 16, 2013 at 12:57 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, May 16, 2013 at 6:42 p.m.

MANATEE COUNTY - Dozens of teachers in Manatee County will lose their jobs as the district begins eliminating positions that school officials acknowledge should have never been filled in the first place.

Area principals have submitted lists of teachers and staff that will be renewed next year as the district tightens staff allocations in the wake of gross financial errors that led to a multi-million dollar budget deficit the system has yet to recover from.

Teachers across the county have been informed that they have no place in the district next year, and more are expected to be notified because not all principals have shared allocations for the 2013-14 year with their staff.

“Because of a lack of fiscal discipline and controls, our school district has hired too many employees over the last several years,” Superintendent Rick Mills said in an automated phone message sent to teachers and parents Wednesday evening. “While attrition will count for part of the realignment, it will not count for all.”

Mills promised a letter explaining the district's reallocation process in the near future; the district will release specific information on early next week.

Other positions on the chopping block include aides, specialists and custodians, though only some school administrators have chosen to inform employees that they will not be rehired. The district deadline to inform staff of contract nonrenewals is May 31.

News of layoffs comes as a blow to teachers who endured a pay cut last year and watched the district use funds from internal school accounts to boost depleted district reserves.

Prine Elementary school Amanda Baker was one of seven teachers who were called into a meeting with Principal Guy Grimes this week and told she would be let go.

Baker, 31, had just been evaluated “highly effective” on her yearly evaluation and has been on a team to write next year's math curriculum. She said administrators said they could offer her no explanation for the nonrenewal, but told her repeatedly it had nothing to do with her performance.

Baker is the breadwinner in her family and carries the family insurance, as her husband is finishing school. She has applied for positions in other counties.

“The way that you deal with it is really hard,” Baker said. “There were a lot of tears shed, but at the end of the day you have students in the classroom staring at you saying, ‘Why are you crying?' ”

A grim outlook

Not every school has informed teachers of changes in positions for next year. Lakewood Ranch High School teacher and former School Board candidate Robert Moates said that while he has heard of many elementary school principals letting teachers know their status for next year, he has heard no official news at the high school level.

“High schools right now exist in a realm of rumors because principals have not necessarily told people yet,” said Moates, who has heard from teachers that say cuts of up to 12 or 15 teachers have occurred at certain schools.

Moates, a district teacher for more than a decade, has a professional service contract — he cannot be fired without just cause. But professional service contracts were eliminated by law in July 2011. Teachers hired after this date have annual contracts and can be let go at the end of every year, which means all teachers with less than four years of service here are in jeopardy of losing their job.

“The only legal challenge to a nonrenewal is if it's done for discriminatory reasons,” Manatee Education Association President Pat Barber said.

Barber said the union typically tracks roughly 60 nonrenewals per year, often related to substitute positions or small allocation changes. She expects this year's number to be much larger.

“In the past, once renewals are placed, if attrition happens and there are new positions open, the people who principals want back can be renewed,” Barber said. “That's what I'm holding out hope for.”

Moates does not necessarily share her optimism.

“If the goal is a reduction in force, we're not going to get those teachers back,” said Moates, adding that district administrators should have addressed budget issues sooner. “The interim administration did nothing while waiting for a new superintendent. That's nine months that we could have been saving money. Nickels, pennies and dimes could have added up. And now we are going to fire a bunch of teachers.”

'Really, really sad'

Though exact figures for changes in allocations were not available Thursday, cuts have reportedly increased greatly from the figures released by the district in March, when school officials said 188 full-time staff positions would be eliminated. About 96 were supposed to be teaching positions.

Mills said in his automated message that the decision to keep class sizes lower than requirements outlined in the Florida class size amendment cost the district “millions” and created a “unsustainable strain” on the system. The district acknowledged a multimillion-dollar deficit in September and officials have since questioned whether funds will break even by the end of the fiscal year.

The deficit prompted a forensic audit that cost more than $200,000 and concluded, among many other financial blunders, that 15 teacher positions were unbudgeted for. That number seems to have grown substantially in a district where finances had not been scrutinized until this spring.

District officials say that is when they discovered excess positions after position control — the tool used to track teacher salaries against the budget that was previously turned off by former administrators — was put back in the system.

State data does show that the district kept class sizes under the levels mandated by the class size amendment, which addresses student/teacher ratios.

Since 2010, classes up to third grade have hovered at about 16 students, though the state mandate is 18. Similar data for middle school and high school shows that class sizes were kept roughly three students under the state caps.

But the averages actually fall on the high side compared to other Florida districts, and last year more than 1,000 classes in the district were over the class size requirements.

District spokespeople said Thursday that they could not immediately provide clarity on the role of cuts and class size in righting finances and improving academic gains.

“It's upsetting me to have to leave,” Baker said. “This is the best school that I've worked in. To have to leave is really, really sad.”

<p><em>MANATEE COUNTY</em> - Dozens of teachers in Manatee County will lose their jobs as the district begins eliminating positions that school officials acknowledge should have never been filled in the first place. </p><p>Area principals have submitted lists of teachers and staff that will be renewed next year as the district tightens staff allocations in the wake of gross financial errors that led to a multi-million dollar budget deficit the system has yet to recover from.</p><p>Teachers across the county have been informed that they have no place in the district next year, and more are expected to be notified because not all principals have shared allocations for the 2013-14 year with their staff.</p><p>“Because of a lack of fiscal discipline and controls, our school district has hired too many employees over the last several years,” Superintendent Rick Mills said in an <A HREF="http://www.heraldtribune.com/assets/mp3/SH27203516.MP3" target="_blank">automated phone message</a> sent to teachers and parents Wednesday evening. “While attrition will count for part of the realignment, it will not count for all.”</p><p>Mills promised a letter explaining the district's reallocation process in the near future; the district will release specific information on early next week.</p><p>Other positions on the chopping block include aides, specialists and custodians, though only some school administrators have chosen to inform employees that they will not be rehired. The district deadline to inform staff of contract nonrenewals is May 31.</p><p>News of layoffs comes as a blow to teachers who endured a pay cut last year and watched the district use funds from internal school accounts to boost depleted district reserves.</p><p>Prine Elementary school Amanda Baker was one of seven teachers who were called into a meeting with Principal Guy Grimes this week and told she would be let go.</p><p>Baker, 31, had just been evaluated “highly effective” on her yearly evaluation and has been on a team to write next year's math curriculum. She said administrators said they could offer her no explanation for the nonrenewal, but told her repeatedly it had nothing to do with her performance.</p><p>“This is happening for a reason completely outside my own ability,” Baker said Thursday. “They won't tell me why they chose me and that's the biggest frustration.”</p><p>Baker is the breadwinner in her family and carries the family insurance, as her husband is finishing school. She has applied for positions in other counties.</p><p>“The way that you deal with it is really hard,” Baker said. “There were a lot of tears shed, but at the end of the day you have students in the classroom staring at you saying, 'Why are you crying?' ”</p><p><b>A grim outlook</b> </p><p>Not every school has informed teachers of changes in positions for next year. Lakewood Ranch High School teacher and former School Board candidate Robert Moates said that while he has heard of many elementary school principals letting teachers know their status for next year, he has heard no official news at the high school level. </p><p>“High schools right now exist in a realm of rumors because principals have not necessarily told people yet,” said Moates, who has heard from teachers that say cuts of up to 12 or 15 teachers have occurred at certain schools.</p><p>Moates, a district teacher for more than a decade, has a professional service contract — he cannot be fired without just cause. But professional service contracts were eliminated by law in July 2011. Teachers hired after this date have annual contracts and can be let go at the end of every year, which means all teachers with less than four years of service here are in jeopardy of losing their job. </p><p>“The only legal challenge to a nonrenewal is if it's done for discriminatory reasons,” Manatee Education Association President Pat Barber said.</p><p>Barber said the union typically tracks roughly 60 nonrenewals per year, often related to substitute positions or small allocation changes. She expects this year's number to be much larger.</p><p>“In the past, once renewals are placed, if attrition happens and there are new positions open, the people who principals want back can be renewed,” Barber said. “That's what I'm holding out hope for.”</p><p>Moates does not necessarily share her optimism.</p><p>“If the goal is a reduction in force, we're not going to get those teachers back,” said Moates, adding that district administrators should have addressed budget issues sooner. “The interim administration did nothing while waiting for a new superintendent. That's nine months that we could have been saving money. Nickels, pennies and dimes could have added up. And now we are going to fire a bunch of teachers.”</p><p><b>'Really, really sad'</span></b></p><p>Though exact figures for changes in allocations were not available Thursday, cuts have reportedly increased greatly from the figures released by the district in March, when school officials said 188 full-time staff positions would be eliminated. About 96 were supposed to be teaching positions. </p><p>Mills said in his automated message that the decision to keep class sizes lower than requirements outlined in the Florida class size amendment cost the district “millions” and created a “unsustainable strain” on the system. The district acknowledged a multimillion-dollar deficit in September and officials have since questioned whether funds will break even by the end of the fiscal year.</p><p>The deficit prompted a forensic audit that cost more than $200,000 and concluded, among many other financial blunders, that 15 teacher positions were unbudgeted for. That number seems to have grown substantially in a district where finances had not been scrutinized until this spring.</p><p>District officials say that is when they discovered excess positions after position control — the tool used to track teacher salaries against the budget that was previously turned off by former administrators — was put back in the system.</p><p>State data does show that the district kept class sizes under the levels mandated by the class size amendment, which addresses student/teacher ratios.</p><p>Since 2010, classes up to third grade have hovered at about 16 students, though the state mandate is 18. Similar data for middle school and high school shows that class sizes were kept roughly three students under the state caps.</p><p>But the averages actually fall on the high side compared to other Florida districts, and last year more than 1,000 classes in the district were over the class size requirements.</p><p>District spokespeople said Thursday that they could not immediately provide clarity on the role of cuts and class size in righting finances and improving academic gains.</p><p>“It's upsetting me to have to leave,” Baker said. “This is the best school that I've worked in. To have to leave is really, really sad.”</p>